MEG Winter Lecture Series - Carlos Lehnebach: Native Orchids

Secretive and fascinating world of native orchids.

People has been fascinated (or obsessed?) with orchids for centuries. They have colonised almost every corner of the world including New Zealand, where more than 110 species have been recorded. Carlos will talk about orchid diversity in New Zealand, recently discovered species, new species awaiting formal description and pollination strategy that has evolved in a group of spider orchids.

Carlos will also highlight the threats to the survival of our native orchids and a number of ongoing collaborative studies that will help us to propagate native orchids and secure their long term survival.

Carlos Lehnebach
Carlos is a curator of the botanical collections at the National Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. His research interests include pollination and conservation of New Zealand orchids, taxonomy of flowering plants and the evolution of the New Zealand alpine flora.